Katei
by freeze1
Summary: A very WAFFY moment between Sango and Miroku because there just aren't enough. RR please!


A/N: I thought that it was insane how there were hardly any Sango and Miroku fanfiction up! I decided to take care of that problem, and this is my meager offering. I have only written one Inuyasha story before, called "Heartbeat". This was going to be a chapter in a soon-to-come story called "Koishii", which is the sequal, but after I wrote it, I realized it would be better by itself. So I changed it, and now its it's own story! *This is what comes after watching too many Inuyasha DVDs! 

Disclaimer: None of this belongs to me. Inuyasha-tachi is property of Rumiko Takahashi. Oh, what I would give if I owned it! *Sobs* But I don't. Oh well. 

It was still dark. Morning had come, and that meant waking up and tending to duties. She had been working for hours, it seemed, but that didn't matter. It was still pitch black outside, and only a single candle in the corner lighted the stingy room where she worked. 

She bent down to pick up a robe that had fallen to the grown in the process of the laundry. Once again she walked towards the basin that was huddled in the corner of the room and submerged the robe into the warm water, watching the already dark colors darken even more. 

She began to scrub steadily, her hands running over the wet fabric again and again until they seemed to know every inch of it. It was nice fabric. Warm fabric. And for some reason, it felt like it was meant for her to hold. She shook that thought out of her head as easily as it had come in. 

"Oi," A very weary voice whispered from the doorway behind her. "You're still doing the laundry?" She turned to face him. He was wearing an old robe, one that she had specially washed yesterday so that it would dry in time. His hair was matted and his right cheek was still slightly red. The reason was no surprise. She nodded. 

"I never got a chance to do this one," she stated matter-of-factly, and then turned around to the basin again. She heard him move behind her, coming to a point where he was standing right behind her, just looking over her shoulder. 

"Why, you could have told me that you were washing my clothing," he chuckled. "Then I would humbly have ablidged to washing yours." She didn't look at him, just kept scrubbing at the robes. 

"You know what you'll get if you try it." He laughed quietly. 

"I didn't say the clothes that you were wearing _now_." She grinned, trying to make it unobvious. 

"You didn't say it, but you meant it." The room became silent, except for the sound of the fabric sliding across the sides of the basin and the water schloping over the edges every once and a while. She tried to ignore him. Sometimes, he just didn't know when he was getting in the way. Often he did, but kept doing what he was doing anyways. That was just like him. 

Suddenly she felt something touch her hand. She looked down to see his hands in the water of the basin aswell. 

"H-Houshi-sama…" 

"Well, since this is my robe, Sango, I think it's best that I help you wash it, ne?" She swallowed, feeling the closeness of their bodies. 

"H-hai…" He moved closer to her, probably without even realizing it. She did, though. Their bodies started to work in unison, scrubbing away at that same robe, their hands moving forwards and back, forwards and back in one never-ending cycle. 

Once in a while, his hand just barely brushed against hers, making her want to smile joyfully and run away screaming at the same time. This was, of course, Houshi-sama. Eventually, he would try to pull something. Her small smile faltered. So that's why he was doing all this. Well if he even dared he would… 

"This feels nice." She stopped suddnely and turned to face him. Had…had he just said that? He was still looking down into the basin, as he spoke softly. 

"Being here, working in a household…" he sighed. "It feels like a home. It feels like…it feels like family." Her heart sank slightly, and she couldn't understand why. 

"But Houshi-sama, we _are_ family," she whispered, looking away from him and back into the basin. She felt his eyes gaze to look at her. 

"That's not what I meant, Sango." He finally whispered quietly. Her heart stopped. Or at least, it seemed to. She couldn't move all of a sudden. She could feel the heat radiating from her face, but couldn't stop it. He continued in a quiet voice, never taking his eyes off her. 

"My father was killed by Naraku's curse. My mother died giving birth to me. I never had a real family." She couldn't look at him. 

"Someday…_someone_ is bound to bear your child, Houshi-sama," she whispered quietly. She gasped suddenly, her mouth hanging slightly open as she felt it. She turned her head slightly, her face glowing bright read to stare at her shoulder. Resting on it was his hand, his right hand, draped in the purple ceremonial cloth. She could feel the rosary beads pressing slightly into her skin. 

She moved to face him. By now, she could barely speak. He was so close to her, it seemed, now that she had turned around. He was staring down into her eyes, a sad and determind look on his face. She gasped quietly, feeling her heart beat faster. He was so close… 

"Sango." She could feel his breath on her face, and felt her knees go weak. _Kami-sama…why is this effecting me so? _"I could never allow anyone to do that. I am cursed, Sango." His voice was filled with rage, but he spoke calmly. 

"Naraku," he breathed, "That damn bastard…with this curse on my arm I cannot get close to anyone. I could never…never love someone because it would cost them their life." She shivered. He was right… 

"You couldn't just go and start a new family without saving Kohaku, could you? It would be too dangerous. Even now, just you standing here in the same room as me, and me as you is a threat to both our lives." He moved closer, then stopped. By now, his face was only inches away from hers, but he was looking into her eyes differently now. He seemed…surprised. Then she felt it. 

One single tear rolled down her cheek. 

It happened so fast, she couldn't do anything. His hand had suddenly left her shoulder and along with his other one had grabbed her from behind and pulled her close to him, grasping onto her body tightly. His robes enfolded themselves around her, and she could feel her head resting in the crick of his neck. 

"Gomen nasai, Sango." By now, she didn't think she could have moved if she had wanted too. _Kami-sama…she thought, my heart is beating so loud in my chest! Houshi-sama…_Time seemed to stand still as they stood there. And Sango knew that she wished it would stand still forever. She couldn't hold back anymore. She couldn't deny that for once, she really wanted to be with him. 

"I don't want to be alone forever…" she whispered, her voice muffled into his chest. She could feel his arms pull around her tighter. 

"Neither do I." He reached up a single hand, and she was very close to jumping out to stop it from it's usual course on instinct. But instead of heading towards her ass, it moved up to caress her hair. "Maybe that is why we're here together." 

And with that, she started to cry. At first it started with sniffles which quickly grew to muffled sobs into his chest. She would never lead a normal life. She would never be able to love someone…and promise to be with them forever, no matter how strong the feeling was. Right now, all she wanted to do was stay where she was and cry. It felt so good to cry. It felt so good to feel his hand running through his hair and his voice quietly whispering her name. Finally he pulled away. 

"It must be hard for you, Sango," he whispered, reaching out a single finger to brush a tear out of her eye. She shivered at the touch of his hand on her skin, even more at the fact that it wasn't anyplace he shouldn't be touching. 

"It's hard for both of us," she answered, not able to take her eyes off his face. His hands dropped to her shoulders. 

"Sango?" He asked finally. "Will you promise me something?" 

"Hai?" 

"Promise me," he whispered, "that you will allow me to protect you. That if there's any matter concerning your life, that you will not be stupid on my account. Promise me that you will come to me if you have a problem, not just hide it within yourself." She stared at him, not knowing what to say. 

"H-Houshi-sama…" His grip tightened on her shoulders. 

"Do you promise, Sango?" She looked at him and nodded slightly. 

"H-Hai." And with that word, he smiled. A true and big and genuine smile. 

"Great," he said, smiling again. She stared at him quizically. 

"Houshi-sama?" She confusedly asked the monk standing before her. "Why did you make me promise you that, just now?" He took his hands off her shoulders and draped them into his pockets. In an instant, he had grabbed her hand again. 

"So we can act more like family." He smiled again, and turned to walk outside. She couldn't move. Her legs wouldn't let her. She just stood there, watching the door he had left from. Then, slowly, she looked at her hand. In it, he had deposited a necklace. Scratched into it seemed to be the word _katei_… 

She sat down on her knees and stared at the little golden necklace silently. Judging by the fact that the carving was amazingly well done, and the gold seemed amazingly pure, it was most likely very expensive. 

"He…stole it…" she whispered quietly. And with that, as the first ray of light appeared in the morning sky, she threw her head back and laughed. 

A/N: 

Katei: Family   
Hai: Yes  
Houshi-sama: The way Sango addresses Miroku, which is a formal way of calling him a monk.  
Gomen Nasai: I'm sorry. 

Well, I hope you liked it! I worked hard on it, and I'm rather proud of it myself. I just can't understand why those two don't have as many fics about them as Kagome and Inuyasha have. They're so KAWAII! Please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please review! I'm already planning another Sango and Miroku fic…and if you review it'll help me get it done faster! 


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